My Professional Digital Image: Should I Observe or Participate?

Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Mexico ranked in the Top 10 of countries that consume the most social media content in 2019. This means that in each of these countries, people spend more than 190 minutes a day on social networks. However, it should be noted that our interactions, behavior and content depend on the social network and in some cases, our interactions might even become opposed to each other.

I was one of those people: the kind of person who only gave likes on Facebook and Instagram; on Whatsapp I had limited group interaction and merely watched the jokes, memes or good morning messages from my relatives; while on LinkedIn I read some things they shared and that was it. 

However, I have changed a lot because it is clear to me that today, social networks have become a way to strengthen and give credibility to our professional image. That's right, social networks are now a showcase to project who we are, what we want to be and what interests us. Even though creating your professional digital image may sound like something you need to spend a lot of time on, it is actually very easy. Here are some tips on how to go from being an observer to a digital leader:

1. Update your accounts. Complete the profiles that you are going to use, delete content or comments that may compromise you, accept or reject requests, become a follower of people who contribute to you and that you admire.

2. The story you want to tell. Think of five things you would like your contacts to remember. For example: I am a leader in my industry, I am an expert in XYZ markets, I like to connect with my clients, I am a promoter of certain causes. This will help you identify what kind of content you will share and build your image.

3. "It is not important to know the answer, but who has it" CONNECT! Add your co-workers, suppliers, clients, college friends, people you met at an event because tomorrow they may be looking for your services or you for theirs. Remember that the quality of your network has a great influence on people's success; don't waste it.

4. Share and Comment. Each piece of content you share generates six views of your LinkedIn profile. In addition, when you interact with the content of a contact, your network and theirs see your interaction, a great benefit to generate more organic impact. If you want to copy someone else's content, I recommend writing to them privately and commenting on your intentions or simply copying them but always giving them credit.

5. Be creative. Perhaps this is the most difficult part, since not all of us have developed the ability to give our profiles titles of impact or to write a very attractive article. However, you can look at those profiles that impact you and complete your own. I have completed mine thanks to the interaction of more than 5,000 contacts.

6. Invite opinion. You can do this in two ways. The first (and newest) is through surveys that you can initiate through the new functionality of LinkedIn, where you have the option for your network to answer your question through three to four multiple-choice answers. It’s easy and will help you create visibility. The second is very simple: share an article or post and ask people for their opinion. The only disadvantage is that you will probably have few answers.

7. Be a PRO and create your own content. After you've implemented several of these tips, now we can go to the next level, which would be to create your own videos on LinkedIn, as well as original content such as articles, computer graphics, edited photos – in short, whatever you can think of. Few people do this on LinkedIn so the opportunity to be seen is huge. Don't miss it.

With these tips you will get more people to see your profile and you can achieve your dream, whatever it is, inspire someone, find the right job, increase your sales, whatever you decide. You will see the results in a very short time and all the benefits will be for you. Now put these tips into practice and become a digital leader!

You can also follow me on my Instagram @oharada